Trouser blousing means



Aug. 26, 1958 F. w. DOLLAR TROUSER BLOUSING MEANS Filed June 13, 1957 Had WDOZZCZZ United States Fatent i TRQUSER BLOUSING MEANS Fred W. Dollar, Henderson, Tex.

Application June 13, 1957, Serial No. 665,614

8 Claims. (Cl. 361) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The invention relates to means for blousing the trouser legs of military trousers by securing the lower edges of such trouser legs to the tops of the uppers of the boots, shoes or the like. Although there are wide variances in the height of military personnel and in the lengths of the legs of the trousers thereof, they all wear the same boot, shoe or the like at the same time to conform to the uniform of the day and such boots shoes or the like all have uppers of the same height.

In the past, trousers have been bloused by having the lower edges of the legs folded in a uniform manner about the uppers of the boots or shoes and secured thereto by blousing ties which preferably comprise elastic bands. These not only tend to cut olf the blood circulation in the feet and angles but they have a tendency to slip upwardly oil? of the shoe uppers. Likewise, they are secured higher or lower on the upper to suit the whim of the wearer whereby the bloused bottoms of the trousers are located at different heights from the ground to present an unsightly lack of uniformity when the assembled personnel are in formation.

Likewise, in an effort to achieve a better appearance, it has been at times customary to insert substantially annular cylinders into the bloused bottoms of the trousers to maintain the same in uniformly extended relation to the shoe uppers. These aids no only cause considerable delay in dressing but bang against the ankles, provide a downward drag on the trousers at the waistband, are expensive, are readily lost or stolen and are otherwise undesirable.

With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved trouser blousing means.

A further object is to provide in combination with a boot, shoe or the like having an upper, improved trouser blousing means which is permanently carried by the upper.

A further object is to provide such an improved trouser blousing means which includes means for positively spacing the bloused portions of the trousers outwardly of said uppers.

A further object is to provide improved trouser blousing means which includes means for stilfening a blousing tie seat on the shoe upper to prevent loss of circulation in the feet and ankle.

A further object is to provide such a means which includes means for retarding the normal upward working of the blousing tie off of the upper.

A further object is to provide such blousing means which blouses each trouser leg outwardly a uniform distance in all directions from the shoe upper.

Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of the invention, the structure of the several portions or elements of the same, combinations and subcombinations of such portions with each other and/or with a boot, shoe or the like, a blousing tie, or a trouser 2,348,825 Patented Aug. 26, 1958 ice leg, all of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the attached drawing in conjunction with the following specification wherein the invention is shown, described-and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front view of the invention showing th same applied to a pair of boots, shoes or the like and a pair of trouser legs;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the planes of the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view like Figure 2 but showing-the blousing means in the blousing-tie-applying position;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 4--4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view like Figure 4 but showing the blousing means in the blousing position; and

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the upper of a boot, shoe or the like showing a blousing means according to the invention apart from the upper.

Referring specifically to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate like parts in all views, It designates generally the uppers of a pair of boots, shoes or the like and 11 the legs of a pair of trousers or the like. The uppers 10 have free top edges 12 about which the lower edges 13 of the trouser legs 11 are adapted to be secured to blouse such legs by any suitable blousing ties, such as the elastic bands 14, in a well known manner. As mentioned aforesaid, such ties 14 tend to retard the circulation of blood in the ankles and feet of the wearer and also tend to work upwardly off of the uppers 10 so that they encircle the legs directly and retard the blood circulation even more. To prevent these evils and to promote uniform and more sightly blousing, the device now to be described has been applied to the uppers 10.

The blousing means according to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing comprises a strip 15 of any suitable material. Preferably the strip 15 is formed of semi-rigid material such as leather, rubber, or composition or combinations of the same, which is caused to be resilient by any suitable means such as the inherent resiliency of the material or which is caused to be resilient by means of separate springs or the like. In the embodiment illustrated, the strip 15 is formed of resilient material which has been preformed to the collarlike shape best shown in Figure 6, and includes at least one blousing portion. In the species illustrated each blousing portion comprises a flange 16 which is normally disposed in a blousing position wherein it extends substantially radially outwardly of the upper 16 in the region of the free top edge 12. The strip 15 also includes means for securing it to the upper 10. In the species illustrated, such means comprises a vertical flange 17 which overlaps or underlaps the free top edge 12 of the upper 10. As shown, flange 17 overlaps each top edge 12 and is secured thereto by staples, adhesive or, as shown, lines of stitching 21. Thus, the outer surface of flange 17 provides a stiffened seat for the blousing tie 14 so as to eliminate the circulation stopping effect of the latter. The forward ends of the flange 17 may be formed with eyelets 18 which align with corresponding eyelets 19 of the upper 10, Figure 6.

The blousing flange 16 includes a free outer edge 242/ which bears against the inner surface of the trouser leg 11 and blouses the same uniformly when such flange is in the normal or blousing position of Figures 1, 2 and 5. However, in the process of blousing the trouser legs 11, the lower edges 13 thereof must be tightly wrapped about the uppers 10, Figures 3 and 4. When this is done the resilient nature of the blousing flanges 16 permits them to be upwardly projected inside the trouser legs 11 so that they provide, in effect, upward extensions of 3 the uppers 10. They are manually maintained in this position until the blousing ties 14 have been applied to the tie seats and are then released. Upon such release the blousing flanges 16 return to the blousing positions aforesaid. The resilient nature of the blousing flanges 16 and the fact that they are normally disposed in the blousing positions serve to retain the ties 14 on their tie seats.

. In the embodiment shown, the blousing means 15 is shaped as an inverted channel which is substantially semicircular in cross section. Likewise, it is preferably at least as long as the free upper edge 12. Also, the free outer edges 20 of the blousing flanges 16 are disposed substantially the same distance in all directions radially outwardly of the free top edges 12 of the uppers Obviously, this distance and the particular form or shape of the means 16 can be varied to provide special effects or for other reasons without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Thus, while there has been shown and described what is now thought to be a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is understood that the same is susceptible of otherv forms and expressions. Consequently, it is clear that the invention is not limited to the particular structure shown and described hereinabove except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. The combination with a boot, shoe or the like having an upper including a free top edge; of trouser blousing means carried by said upper in the region of said free top edge, said trouser blousing means being formed of semi-rigid resilient material, and said trouser blousing means normally projecting radially outwardly of said free top edge of said upper.

2. The combination with a boot, shoe or the like having an upper including a free top edge; of trouserxblousing means, means securing said blousing means to said upper in the region of said free top edge thereof, and said blousing means comprising a semi-rigid and resilient collar extending radially outwardly of said free top edgeof said upper.

3. The combination with a boot, shoe or the like having an upper including a free top edge; of semi-rigid and resilient trouser blousing means, means mounting said blousing means on said upper near said top edge of the same, said blousing means normally extending radially outwardly of said top edge of said upper, and said blousing means being movable upwardly so as to extend axially upwardly of said free top edge of said upper.

4. The combination with a boot, shoe or the like having an upper which includes a free top edge;v of a trouser blousing flange, said flange being formed of semi-rigid resilient material, means mounting said flange on said upper, and said flange projecting radially outwardly of said free top edge of said upper, and said flange being movable to a retracted position wherein it extends axially upwardly of said free top edge of said upper.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said flange is coextensive in length with said free top edge of said upper and is in the form of achannel member.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said channel member is arcuate in cross section.

7. The combination of claim 4, wherein said flange is of the same diameter throughout its length.

8. The combination with a boot, shoe or the like having an upper including a free top edge; of'trouser blousing means comprising an annular angle member of semirigid sheet material, said member having a vertical. flange coextensive in length with said top edge of said upper and in lapped relation therewith to stiflen said upper edge, and said member including a flange extending radially outwardly of said top edge to provide a trouser blousing portion.

References Cited .in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,478,468 Binns Dec. 25, 1923 1,661,726 Jensen Mar. 6, 19 28 2,427,459 Jastrzomb Sept. 16, 1947 2,480,276 Wilkenfeld Aug. 30, 1949 2,596,112 Aines May 13, 1952 2,720,656 Allan Oct. 18, 1955 2,729,899 Haase Jan. 10, 1956 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,848,825 August 26, 1958 Fred W. Dollar appears in the-printed specification It is hereby certified that error correction and that the said Letters of the above -numbered patent requiring Patent should read as corrected below.

ly-line" '335ifor angles 'read enkles q line 44, for

"colum"'2,' lime 42'," after" "mat'eri'a'l" insert ape-rind; lines 42 and '43," Strike out "or which is caused to be resilient Signed and sealed this llth day of November 1958.

fittest:

KARL H. AXLINE Attesting Oflicer ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner of Patents 

